Conference
(September 25-29th) - Chiang Mai, Thailand
…before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language… Revelation 7:9
Among so many important things that we could highlight about the Conference, is the glimpse of Heaven. More than 350 participants from 70 different countries with their cultures, languages and races is simply extraordinary! In all this diversity it is possible to experience the unity of the Body of Christ.
We met dear friends we hadn't seen in person for years, and we made new ones. We are so excited for what God is already doing through these amazing mobilizers!
One of the moments that surprised everyone was during praise and worship when the Philippine team sang a verse of “How great is our God” in the language of an Asian country that sent several participants despite strong repression and serious safety risks (some were even stopped at the airport and prevented from traveling). When they began singing in their language, the feeling of the entire room was touchable. Their reaction was priceless and it felt like they were being recognized by 70 different nations as a loved nation that belong to the same God!
TUSfY Launch
(September 23rd and 24th) - Chiang Mai, Thailand
The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Psalms 126:3
After more than 2 years of development, we finally launched The Unfinished Story for Youth. 60 participants representing more than 20 countries came together to celebrate youth mobilization and dream together about the impact this new tool can have in their regions.
Pastors, leaders, missionaries and mobilizers of various ages and different Protestant traditions really enjoyed the course and later took the facilitator training. We also had an incredible team of facilitators who helped launch a lively and enthusiastic course (Segana from Australia, Eugie from Zimbabue, Kelly from New Zealand, and Klied from the Philippines). We are very happy with the result and we pray that this course will indeed be an instrument to mobilize young people to live a life on Mission with God.
The expectation is that the course will be trialed in their context, and an official package released to the whole family by 2024.
We are also excited to see all the different translations that will be worked on to have this course in multiple languages. available and translated for all countries in which they operate by the end of next year.
Visitors
In July we had the privilege to welcome to the Center John from South Africa who is going to work as the SMI Resource Development Coordinator. He joined the team in July through 2 weeks of in person onboarding getting to know the team and different roles.
We also loved to see Linda Harding again. She is from Scotland and one of the firsts to introduce the Kairos Course in many countries. She had one week in the Center and recorded a few sessions of the course Empowered to Influence. We hadn't seen each other in person since 2019 when we met in the Global Development Consultation, so we enjoyed our time with her. We praise God for her life, ministry and example she set for mobilizers everywhere.
Brazil
We arrived in Brazil on October 4th, very tired after a long trip (20 days, 7 flights, 7 hotels). The first week has been crucial for us to adjust to the time zone (11 hours) and of course to rest, although we are still working with the team post-conference, which involves releasing the course files, posting on social media and meetings (that we will attend online).
While we are in Uberlândia, our hometown, we urgently need to seek some medical care and work out documentation issues, both ours and Vivi's. Please pray that we will be able to financially cover everything that is necessary, and finish paying for the tickets to come here, so that we can go back to traveling in a few months.
While in the city we are also looking forward to developing the first parts of the project to get TUSFY into Portuguese which will help teams not only in Brazil, but also Portugal and Mozambique.
Next Year
SM has journeyed a long way in understanding key principles and strategies when building the franchise as a movement, especially raising new teams. Youth Mobilization (YM) is an integral part of the movement, and although it has been a part of our vision and some countries have been able to raise strong teams, others haven't just yet. Wherever growing YM is needed, we see it as an opportunity to implement the principles of the movement to grow teams, empower youth and young mobilizers and offer support to the local leadership.
As we have reflected on this, we sense God’s leading to serve our countries better, by planning for strategic blocks of time (3 to 6 months) in different countries primarily to trial diverse ways to initiate and strengthen youth mobilization, get to know the young people (especially key leaders better) and to connect with key Youth Mobilizers in nearby countries.
We will be sharing more about this next season on our upcoming letters. Stay tuned!
Prayer Focus
For our stay in Brazil, for the medical care and documentation.
For Vivian's health and growth.
For 2025, especially for the countries that will participate in this journey and all the travel arrangements.
For financial resources to make our trips possible in the coming years.
